Sweden: Turkey wants what we cannot give for NATO membership

Deutsche Welle ^

[FarCenter]

The prime minister says Ankara is asking for too much in a drawn-out obstruction of NATO membership bid. He voiced confidence that Turkey would relent but could not say when.

[Paladin2]

Kick the Turk Islamists outta NATO.

[kiryandil]

“It is to laugh”

[rellic]

I don’t there is such a mechanism in the NATO agreement.
but all Moslems should be held at arms length,
ALWAYS!

[Sunsong]

Why is Turkey even in NATO?

[DesertRhino]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SfHKR_7NjM

Jake and Elwood covered this...

[DesertRhino]

Don’t the Turks with exponentially more combat power and value know that the white all-knowing, female-run Swedes must be appeased?

[Paul R.]

Big country, big military. Manpower, and, Turkey actually spent 2.71% of it’s GDP on defense in 2019. Makes Germany look like the true wusses they are...

[Jonty30]

Turkey has promised to destroy Europe through being a gateway for Mulims if they are kicked out.

[mylife]

welp turkey is the wild card, finns got nothin

[McGruff]

With allies like Turkey who needs enemies?

[Widget Jr]

Turkey is protecting Ukrainian grain shipments, enforcing the oil price cap on Russian oil tankers, and keeping Russia from reinforcing the Black Sea fleet. They are the NATO nation at most risk from Russia right now, not Poland, Germany, or the Baltic states.

The country at the tip of the spear of US and NATO policy, has a lot of say in that policy. That is how international alliances like NATO work.

[NorseViking]

Do you realize that Turkey is a single NATO country besides the US which has an army? Trading her for Sweden is not prudent.

[ETCM]

Turkey wants Sweden to completely abandon the PKK, who are designated by both the EU and US as a terrorist organization. Even with this designation, Sweden is sympathetic to the PKK, and has long been a destination for Kurdish refugees. Including some that Turkey considers terrorists. Turkey considers the YPG, the Kurds we armed to fight ISIS in Syria, to be part of the PKK, thus terrorists. As always, one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.

Obviously Turkey has some bargaining power here, and Erdogan plans to play this chip. He might not get what he asks for, but he will get something.

[Gene Eric]

Compare Turkey’s morals to the West.

[robowombat]

Thank you for your concise, non-emotional, and very informative response. The next question is why does Sweden care what happens in Kurdistan?

[katana]

Why? The Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact once bordered it, and bottling Ivan in the Black Sea behind the Dardanelles seemed like a good idea at the time. Until Kennedy bargained them away, we could even base nukes a few hundred kilometers away from the Politburo member's seaside resorts. And Turkey used to be the least Islamic Muslim country, possessing a genuinely serious military.

Different time.

[Sunsong]

Thanks. Do you think it’s smart for them to be in NATO now?

[bert]

Presently Turkey is an economic basket case.

Erdogan has destroyed a great country and is petulantly trying to accomplish an objective far above his weight class.

[Rummyfan]

Why is Turkey even in NATO?

Back in the day they were a great bulwark against the Soviets. Plus we had listening stations there, and we still have the base at Incirlik. It's only under Erdogan that Turkey has become so anti-Israel and even anti-West. Erdogan fancies himself as a leader of the islamic world and acts as such. He has also taken the country in a more fundamentalist direction, defying Ataturk's legacy.